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Saturday, 15 June, 2002, 12:06 GMT 13:06 UK Under the same sky By Mark Doyle BBC West Africa correspondent When we told our four-and-half-year-old son Alex that we were moving to London, he thought about it for a long time. The idea was difficult for him to grasp because, although he has been to England on visits, he has lived most of his life in West Africa. Alex thought hard about it, but then, remembering that he would travel on an airplane, he looked up at the sky and asked: "Daddy, is it the same sky all the way from...

An ultrasound picture sits next to a constantly ringing phone on the reception desk of the Planet Salon that just opened in Beaumont Centre. The photo is a clue that something possibly unique is about to happen to the men who own the salon, domestic partners Thomas Dysarz and Michael Meehan. The men expect to become parents in late August, when a Caesarean section is scheduled. Meehan, 36, is the biological father. The mother is a 23-year-old surrogate who agreed to help Meehan and Dysarz have a baby through in-vitro fertilization. But then something happened that nobody expected -- and...

Eamon from Boston emails in response to my piece on the war in Afghanistan, saying: 'I know you believe in human rights, so I fail to understand why you do not support the removal of the Taliban - a regime that couldn't even spell human rights.' Now leaving aside the question of whether the Afghan war was really about defending human rights, which I deal with here, the most striking thing about Eamon's email is his assumption that I support human rights. He just knows I do. This got me thinking. There are a number of political positions today that...

Schools Abolish Recess in favor of Sensitivity Training SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA- Several parents at Franklin Elementary School were concerned. They felt that the game of tag, popular during lunch recess at Franklin, was victimizing kids with its hurtful "you're it" mindset. Playground games, they argued, separate children into groups, discriminating against heavier or uncoordinated children. When confronted with this, Principal Pat Samarge decided to take action, banning not only the game of tag, but recess itself. Samarge's plan is for the youngsters to burn off that extra energy learning about disadvantaged groups in a special sensitivity training class. While the...

Combating terrorism is a desperate undertaking for any democratic government. Fight with merely military might and the struggle can be lost — as the Reagan administration belatedly learned in Central America in the 1980s and the Russians have found in Chechnya. As every successful antiterrorist expert knows, an essential ingredient in defeating an insurgency or terrorist group must involve mounting an effective, two-pronged, hearts-and-minds strategy that aims, on the one hand, to wean supporters away from the terrorist opponent and, on the other, to maintain the morale and backing of your own people. Repression or overreaction and curtailment of...

Step by step, China is upgrading the weapons systems it needs to attack Taiwan Military ties between the United States and the People's Republic of China (PRC) came screeching to a halt in April 2001 when the Chinese air force attacked a U.S. Navy EP-3E surveillance aircraft in international airspace and forced it to land on Hainan Island in China. But now, 14 months later, the Bush administration has agreed to dispatch Assistant Secretary of Defense Peter Rodman to Beijing to revive those ties at a time when the PRC appears increasingly isolated and its much-touted strategic alliance with Russia...

Jose Padilla, a.k.a. Abdullah al-Muhajir, supposedly plotted to build and detonate a radiological "dirty bomb." He is a U.S. citizen. Yet he's being detained by the military — indefinitely, without seeing an attorney, even though he hasn't been charged with any crime. Yaser Esam Hamdi is also a U.S. citizen. He, too, is being detained by the military — indefinitely, without seeing an attorney, even though he hasn't been charged with any crime. Meanwhile, Zacarias Moussaoui, purportedly the 20th hijacker, is not a U.S. citizen. Neither is Richard Reid, the alleged shoe bomber. Both have attorneys. Both have been...

Israel Preparing Major Ops In Gaza Strip Against Hamas-PM   10:06 ET Dow Jones International News (Copyright (c) 2002, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP)-- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told members of his Likud Party Monday Israel was preparing a large operation in the Gaza Strip against the militant Hamas movement, his spokesman Raanan Gissin said. Sharon spoke hours after Israel delivered the first blow of the new offensive - a helicopter missile strike on two cars carrying Hamas members, killing six Palestinians and injuring five in the southern Gaza Strip at Rafah. Four of...

Bonds up, dollar flops Treasurys rise on weakness in equities futures; dollar drops against euro, yen. June 24, 2002: 9:28 AM EDT NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. Treasurys climbed across the curve early Monday -- with equities futures pointed to a down open for stocks -- while the dollar continued to sink. The dollar sank to a two-year low against the euro and was weaker against the yen following a Bank of Japan intervention to stop the yen's rise. Around 9:25 a.m. ET, two-year notes rose 2/32 of a point to 100-26/32 to yield 2.81 percent, while 5-year notes rose...

Posted: Mon Jun 24 2002Bush Fights Evil In Thighs, Buttocks If you're not in shape, you may be supporting terrorism. That's the message of President Bush's latest addition to the Homeland Defense effort, the Fitness Brigade. "There may be evil lurking in the expanded thighs and bulbous buttocks of Americans. There may be complacency in our tummy areas and sunken chests," said Bush before his weekly three mile run. "Our flabby arms may be giving shelter to our enemies, and comfort to those who support them. We must remain vigilant." To help support his plan, Bush asked all Americans to...

While doing some research this morning regarding fuel cell info and the state of Michigan, I came across this abomination. What gives the Detroit Free Press the right to use something that applies to us and what we do best? They can't get away with it ----- Check out www.freep.com

Religion, Politics and the Death Penalty Remarks by Justice Antonin Scalia at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, University of Chicago, February 2002 E. J. DIONNE JR. (New York Times Syndicated Columnist): Justice Scalia has been described as principled, clear, consistent, forceful, wry, irreverent, sometimes scathing. His legal prose has been described as uniquely musical and energetically argumentative. As you all know, he grew up in New York City in Queens, was a star at Xavier High School, and this I didn’t know – he was a whiz kid on New York radio contests. (Laughter.) He graduated from...

U.S. attorneys in Oregon and that state's regional Social Security Administration announced the sentencing of Juventino Lira-Carmona, a Mexican national who had assumed the identity of a deceased American and used the decedent's Social Security number (SSN) to gain employment and illegally remain in the United States. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Lira-Carmona was arrested after filing a false application for a U.S. passport. Officials reported that he was placed on probation for one year and remanded immediately into the custody of agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for removal to Mexico....

Media gears up for post-holiday-terrorism splash Public relations staff swing into top gear by BF Hart In anticipation of large-scale terrorist attacks on US, British and Indian soil almost certain to happen between now and 4 July, airports, "intelligence" agencies, multi-national corporations and the like are gearing-up their public relations departments. The expected onslaught of public apology, grieving, and denial of culpability as soon as the next round of attacks have commenced have already been the subject of over 5,000 Powerpoint presentations. Members of the uninformed media and experts in the fields of terrorism, bio-terrorism, nuclear weapons and intelligence failures...

A Few of FR's Finest...........Every Day FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues;  salute and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves. Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.  I can remember lurking when there were only a few regulars...

Date: 2002-06-21 Anglican Primate Calls John Paul II "Spiritual Leader of Christianity" Statements of Archbishop of Canterbury During Visit to Rome VATICAN CITY, JUNE 21, 2002 (Zenit.org).- Archbishop George Carey of Canterbury, primate of the Anglican Communion, called John Paul II the "spiritual leader of the whole of Christianity." The leader of 70 million Anglican faithful made his assessment over Vatican Radio today after a papal audience. The Briton´s visit was charged with melancholy, because the 103rd archbishop of Canterbury plans to retire Oct. 31. Dr. Carey, 66, said his visit had a "highly personal" character "to express my gratitude...

They're baaack! It's not surprising that alumni of the Clinton administration are jousting to return to public life, pining for the power and prestige they once enjoyed in the White House. What is surprising — and of growing interest to the 2004 Democratic presidential hopefuls — is how the Clinton alumni are talking about their former boss and his contested legacy. Or, in some cases, not talking about it. "Is a Clinton connection a political plus or the mark of Cain?" wondered New York Times columnist William Safire recently. No less than six Clinton alumni are on the ballot...

The murder of innocent youth and children by Islamic extremists is painfully experienced in areas of the world, in addition to Israel. The Saudi Times cites BBC World Service for reports from Algeria that 10 people have been killed and several others injured in separate attacks, by Islamic extremists. The state news agency said Islamic extremists killed six people when they opened fire on a group of youths playing football in Zeralda, twenty kilometres (12.5 miles) west of the capital, Algiers, according to The Saudi Times and BBC World Service. The agency stated that three others were wounded, one seriously....

Former TV talker Rosie O'Donnell may be a big fan of Hillary Clinton, but she apparently despises her husband Bill - so much so that the loudmouthed "Queen of Nice" has taken to trashing the ex-prez in public. "He disgusts me," O'Donnell told a crowd assembled this weekend for the opening of Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Casino during her stand-up comedy routine. O'Donnell's blast came just 24-hours after Clinton joined the Blues Brothers onstage at the same gathering for a saxophone serenade. "I've not been in his corner ever since he lied to America when he said he didn't sleep...

Like three blind mice, House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Democratic political strategist James Carville are running around saying they want their eyes opened as to what's going on in this country about terrorism. Gephardt wants an investigation into "what the White House knew about the events leading up to 9/11, when they knew it and, most importantly, what was done about it." Hillary, who watched submissively from the White House as Islamists attacked America in 1993, 1996, 1998 and 2000, suggests that President George W. Bush is asleep at the switch. Carville,...